In his long and varied career Christopher Dresser was an ornamentalist, a lecturer in botany, and a designer of silver, ceramics, glass, furniture, and textile patterns. Like his contemporary William Morris (1834–1896), he believed that it took an artist, not just a craftsman, to create good design. However, unlike Morris, who shunned industrial production, Dresser had his designs manufactured by firms scattered between London and Glasgow. Although this spoon holder has not been traced to a particular design by Dresser, it is typical of the streamlined models produced for him by Hukin and Heath.